No on Measure E

This ballot initiative is a blatantly unfair tax and should be defeated. Money should never have been spent to get it on a ballot in its present form.

It is cleverly crafted to exclude a large percent of potential negative votes from seniors 65 and older. That sector of the demographic typically votes more consistently than any other age group, and probably would vote against Measure E if it did not have the "opt out" option for paying the $99 increase in property taxes.

With Measure E being the only issue on which to vote, why would that group have any reason to show up at the polls? It wouldn't, unless those voters have grandchildren or great-grandchildren who attend schools in the Oxnard School District, and would want to approve other citizens to pay for their descendants' benefit. That is an unethical reason to approve the initiative. It negates any reason for many seniors to vote, and this initiative is also unfair because it taxes only property owners and not those parents who rent.

Surely, there is a more fair way to pay for education than to tax property owners who do not have school-age children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren and whom are not allowed to "opt out" when other property owners/voters can.

Redistribution of wealth by this cleverly crafted initiative is unethical. The last thing homeowners need here in Oxnard is a higher property-tax burden during this economy.

The school district needs to go back to the drawing board, pare its budget and figure out how to manage its funds more effectively. If it means crowded classrooms and fewer staff, that may have to be the result. Every homeowner has to tighten his or her belt a bit tighter in this economy, so why shouldn't the school district?

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is credited with the quote: "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." At some point, homeowners' ability to pay more taxes will stop. Then where will the schools be?

The Sept. 27 Star article "Federal stimulus funds not yet spent in most cases" reveals the Oxnard School District will receive $5.1 million. The estimated tax of $99 per parcel proposed in the initiative will raise $3 million for each of the next four years. That additional tax totals $12 million. Maybe the information revealed in these two articles is just a coincidence in timing, but it sure looks like double dipping. Didn't the school district know the stimulus funds were coming? I suggest voting no on Measure E. It doesn't look like it will be needed, after all.

It is ironic these articles on Measure E and the $5.1 million from the stimulus bill appeared in The Star on the same day. Fortunately, they did. Otherwise, the ballot issue might not have been as exposed as clearly as it is.